Studio Wants Bullock if Portman Says No to "Gravity"

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Just when we thought this "Gravity" nonsense was behind us, it turns out that the studio is quietly rooting against the director's choice.

Natalie Portman last week was offered the lead role in director Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity," a special-effects heavy thriller about a woman adrift in a space station trying to get back to her child on Earth. For a brief moment it seemed to lay to rest one of the more confusing and fluid casting situations in Hollywood.

Soon it appeared to be between Lively and Johanssen. Then Warner Bros. freaked out over the idea of one of those unprovens leading an $80 million film. So they got down on their knees and begged Jolie, who once again turned them down. Then Cuaron got permission to offer the role to Portman -- but she hasn't yet answered.

Now Warner Bros. is all but hoping that Portman will say no so they can offer the role to Bullock, according to Cinema Blend. Bullock is coming off a monster year at the box office, with "The Blind Side" and "The Proposal." But would the audiences for those films really come out to watch her float across the galaxy for two hours?

We were very much looking forward to this film, but it's hard to imagine Bullock starring in it. No offense to Ms. Bullock, it just doesn't seem like her thing.